LEBANON, Pa.
- A couple who locked their 18-year-old, mentally disabled daughter
in a room without food or a toilet when they went out has pleaded
guilty to child endangerment, unlawful restraint and other charges.
George Shaak Jr., 51, of Lebanon,
will be sentenced to 11 months to two years in county prison under a
plea agreement he entered Thursday. His 42-year-old wife, Susan,
faces six months to two years in prison, although she can argue at
her sentencing for house arrest.
The daughter, whose name was not
released, told police she was often locked in a cluttered,
foul-smelling room when her parents went out. She also told police
she was often forbidden to eat meals with the rest of the family and
went hungry.
The room where she was kept had no
bed, only blankets and pillows on the floor and a box filled with
paper that served as a toilet.
The Shaaks were charged after
police conducted surveillance and then an April search in which they
found the teen home alone in the locked room.
On one occasion, police went to
check on her welfare but thought no one was home. The girl later
said she had been locked in her room while her family went to a
baseball game.
The victim is now in the custody of
a county mental health agency.
George Shaak's sentencing is set
for Jan. 17. His wife's sentencing date was not available. They did
not immediately return a telephone message left with a relative on
Saturday.
